Yoko Ono to remember John Lennon

Music legend John Lennon will be celebrated by his widow Yoko Ono with a series of events in Iceland to mark what would have been his 70th birthday, she said yesterday.

The artist and peace campaigner will round off her activities with a performance by the Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band on October 9.

She will also be presenting awards to figures chosen for their contribution to world peace with a biennial award created in 2002.

The Lennon Ono Grant for Peace – created to honour Mr Lennon’s dedication to peace and human rights will go to four recipients.

They include filmmaker Josh Fox who wrote and directed the documentary feature film Gasland the years; author Michael Pollan who has written bestselling books about the interaction of nature and society and author and activist Alice Walker, most famous for her book The Color Purple, who travelled to Gaza last year to oppose the Israeli blockade and wrote about her experiences.